Hennepin County approves design for Southwest LRT

The Hennepin County Board completed its municipal approval process for preliminary design plans for the Southwest light-rail transit project, in voting to approve the portion of those plans serving the city of Minneapolis.

The vote follows a joint public hearing held by the Metropolitan Council and the Hennepin County Board on August 13 to receive public comment, as required by state statute. Minneapolis will vote on municipal approval for these plans on August 29.

"This vote is the culmination of years of hard work by civic, business and community leaders," said Hennepin County Commissioner Jan Callison. "At its heart is a vision of Hennepin County and the Twin Cities, as an economically competitive region where transportation and job choices are widely available. Thank you to all those who have worked so hard to make this happen."

"This moves us one step closer to the goal of the building of the Southwest light-rail transit line," said Hennepin County Commissioner Linda Higgins.

In addition, the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority confirmed its commitment to pay 10 percent of the capital costs for construction of the Southwest light-rail transit project.